Antonio Maceo Grajales

Antonio Maceo Grajales (14 June 1845-7 December 1896) was the second-in-command of the Cuban army during the Cuban War of Independence.

Biography
Antonio Maceo Grajales was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba in 1845, the son of a Venezuelan farmer and an Afro-Cuban woman of Dominican descent. He became a successful entrepreneur and farmer, and he joined the Freemasons, who were heavily influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution. He became one of the most notable guerrilla leaders of the 19th century, equalling Jose Antonio Paez in military acumen. He fought in the Ten Years' War of 1868-1878, and he participated in more than 500 battles and rose to the rank of General. In 1879, he attempted to plan an invasion of Cuba from New York, but this plan failed; he fled to several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, evading Spanish assassination attempts each time. During the Cuban War of Independence, he landed in Cuba with a small force, and he led his army to several guerrilla victories over the Spanish occupiers. On 7 December 1896, he and a small force of guerrillas caught the attention of a large Spanish Army column near Punta Brava as they tried to cut a fence, and Maceo was shot several times and killed.